Fantasy Football Week 4 Booms and Busts: Comeback kids Nico Collins, Drake Maye return to form

· Yahoo Sports

We often talk of the NFL being a snow globe league. If you don't like what you're seeing, wait a week, or an hour, or even a play. Comebacks are an eternal part of the NFL story. And we had plenty to choose from in Week 4.

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Let's start with Puka Nacua, who made his first start since Week 1. He threw a classic Nacua line at the Eagles (9-125-0, plus a rushing touchdown), helping the Rams overcome a 10-point deficit and improve to 2-2. Perhaps the game never really should have been close, because Los Angeles dominated the stats; the Rams had 415 yards of offense, the Eagles just 172. Nonetheless, it's fun to have Nacua back to set-and-forget status.

Davante Adams (4-32-0, nine targets) didn't run with Nacua on this day, though Matthew Stafford missed him on one long pass. The surprising second pitch for the Rams has been Kyren Williams (147 total yards, two scores), who's stepped up as a receiver this year. After catching between 32 and 36 passes for three straight seasons, Williams has 16 catches over the last two weeks (10 on Sunday). Williams has turned the presumed LAR backfield rotation into a one-man show; Blake Corum has just 12 touches the last two games.

The Texans also welcomed their signature receiver back, though it wasn't enough to secure a critical win. Nico Collins was unstoppable against the Cowboys (7-118-2), with just one of his targets falling incomplete. Collins has missed time in each of his six pro seasons, so maintenance comes standard whenever you draft him. But when healthy, he's easily a top 10 fantasy receiver, with a case to push into the top five.

Collins somehow wasn't even the best fantasy wideout on the field Sunday, as CeeDee Lamb went ballistic on the other side (17-189-1), one of the best games of the year. Lamb collected 21 targets compared to just three for George Pickens, although Pickens did draw a couple of key penalty flags. Obviously the split in Dallas is going to move closer together in future weeks, but Lamb is making it clear who's the Batman and who's the Robin in this passing game. And maybe it's time we stopped worrying about when our fantasy players go up against the Houston defense — something is definitely missing with the Texans this year.

Perhaps no NFL player needed a Week 4 win as badly as Drake Maye, who was the most diagnosed and analyzed player of the week. Maye orchestrated an inspiring upset win at Buffalo, throwing for 269 yards and three touchdowns and resourcefully rushing for 54 more yards. Add in a 2-point conversion toss and Maye was the QB1 when the first window was complete, scoring over 27 points. There's still stuff to iron out — three fumbles (one lost), one interception — but this was a massive step forward.

Maye was able to MacGyver this win with a skeleton crew on offense. Obviously, A.J. Brown is out indefinitely and glue-guy Mack Hollins was hurt Sunday. The game-winning touchdown came on a pretty Maye throw to Efton Chism, who made a dynamite one-handed catch. Romeo Doubs (6-58-2, nine targets) caught the other two scores from Maye, pushing into the flex mix moving forward.

The New England schedule softens up some over the second quarter. The team will be up against the Raiders, Jets, Bears and Dolphins the next four weeks. Some respectable matchups in there, but it's not like playing the Seahawks, Jaguars and Bills.

Speaking of welcome comebacks, let's celebrate the return of wild and crazy Jameis Winston. After a buttoned-up Winston led the Giants to a conservative win last week, he was back to riverboat-gambler Winston in the Sunday win over Arizona. Winston threw two picks, took four sacks and pushed the ball downfield. He finished with 250 yards and three touchdowns as the Giants held off the Cardinals.

Most fantasy managers are tracking Winston's play only for how it affects his main targets. Sunday, business was good. Malik Nabers (6-112-1) cracked double-digit points for the first time in 2026, overcoming a dinged-up shoulder in the first half. And Winston looked liberally for tight end Isaiah Likely (7-66-0), sending 12 targets his way. The Giants should continue to be aggressive next week against a leaky Washington pass defense.

Every NFL Sunday is going to have the stench of injuries, and the Eagles feel that as much as anyone. Philadelphia started the day without DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, and Saquon Barkley (hamstring) was hurt in the first half. The depleted Eagles never found an offensive rhythm, going 0-for-12 on first down and sputtering to 172 yards.

Jacksonville will be a challenge for the Eagles next week, no matter who Philly has available in the huddle. Jalen Hurts had just 93 passing yards against the Rams, and his two touchdowns were fantasy shockers, going to unheralded receiver Darius Cooper. Trendy sleepers Makai Lemon (3-27-0) and Dontayvion Wicks (3-18-0) failed to launch.

The Baltimore win over Tennessee was mostly a color-by-numbers job, a case of efficiency over flash. But part of that was mandatory after Lamar Jackson hurt his ankle in the first half. Backup QB Tyler Huntley played the second half and was only asked to throw nine passes (63 yards). The Ravens knew a Tennessee comeback was unlikely.

Zay Flowers (8-118-1) was electric with Jackson and could be one of the ADP smashes of the year if Jackson can get back on the field quickly. Of course, Flowers did produce with Huntley last year, too, but the upside would surely be capped with a backup QB. The Ravens travel to Atlanta for next Sunday night's game.

Ja'Marr Chase was another casualty in Week 4, suffering a first-half concussion against the Jaguars. Tee Higgins (11-157-0) became the target hog with Chase out, but he suffered an adductor injury on the final drive. There's a lot of Cincinnati stuff to unpack before they play at Miami next week. The Bengals then have a Week 6 bye.

— Kyle Monangai (30-146-2) looked like the better of the two Chicago backs, though he suffered a thumb injury at some point in the win over the Jets. We also have to consider that D'Andre Swift (15-58-0) was playing with a sore knee. The Chicago passing game was more traditional with Tyson Bagent at the controls; Rome Odunze (6-94-0), Luther Burden III (4-63-0) and Colston Loveland (6-57-0) soaked up 22 of the 31 targets. But perhaps the biggest shock of all was the Chicago defense — feared to be a sieve a few weeks ago — holding the Jets to seven first downs and 157 yards of offense.

Maybe Chicago isn't the carnival team we all dreamt about. A trip to Green Bay is up next.

— The Packers offense continued its early-season theme — bad running, ordinary passing. Of course, not much was needed against a Tampa Bay offense that was mostly punchless without Baker Mayfield. The best sign for Green Bay was Tucker Kraft (6-42-1) finding the end zone and drawing a team-high seven targets. Kraft has some fun matchups coming soon, especially Dallas in Week 6 and Detroit in Week 7.

— A lot of words were spilled on the Dalton Kincaid breakout through two weeks (my keyboard was busy, too). But Kincaid has been erased since, with just 3-45-0 the last two games. The Patriots held him to two targets and just one catch Sunday, especially disappointing with DJ Moore (shoulder) leaving the game early. Josh Allen's best work came when targeting intriguing post-hype sleeper Keon Coleman (6-116-1) and slot man Khalil Shakir (7-82-0).

— Although the Cardinals put up 24 points in the Meadowlands, the return wasn't that much fun for fantasy players. Arizona had a modest 270 yards of offense and the touchdowns went to players unlikely to be started in most leagues — Tyler Allgeier, Elijah Higgins, and yes, Marvin Harrison Jr. (his only catch).

Michael Wilson (7-95-0) and Trey McBride (7-31-0) weren't total washouts, but it was disappointing to see Jacoby Brissett struggle against the New York defense (three picks, two sacks, 4.7 YPA). The Cardinals have now lost three straight, and perhaps the Carson Beck experiment at quarterback will start sooner than expected.

— No one wants to pile on Jalon Daniels — he was an undrafted rookie making his first NFL start. You're set up to fail in this type of spot. No one in the Tampa Bay huddle got past 40 yards receiving, and Daniels was held to 5.5 YPA. He also took three sacks, had two passes intercepted.

It was also a nightmare day for Bucky Irving managers — while 16-61-0 is respectable on the ground, he was not used in the passing game. Meanwhile, Sean Tucker had a short touchdown run and Kenny Gainwell had a touchdown catch. The Buccaneers need to find answers quickly; they travel to Dallas for a Thursday night game.

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